View Full Version : Shoulder Strap/Hip belt padding material
What do you folks use for padding in your homemade shoulder straps and hip belts? I have poked around quite a bit, but haven't found a good source for the kind of closed cell foam that was shipped with my Gossamer Gear G4 pack (for the optional inserts), and I'm not entirely happy using the Reflectix foil-covered bubble wrap material - I don't think it will hold up too well. Suggestions?
Ben
12hrsN2AT
09-07-2005, 18:40
If you can leave a small opening, use your socks or another article of clothing you are carrying.
Try a piece of cheap sleeping or exercise pad? I have an old "backpackers pad" that I got at Kmart, I think it's urethane foam, five eights or so thick, and a piece of it has been padding my backpack front for years. The remaining piece that I've been sleeping on for years is still in good shape, too. It's totally non hydro absorbent.
tlbj6142
09-08-2005, 08:55
You can buy a 0.5" full length pad at Wal-Mart for $7. Or a 0.25" full length pad from Target ($9?). Both items are typically found in the camping section.
digger51
09-09-2005, 00:55
I used shoulder harness pads from my auto i got in the automotive section of walmart.
The River Weasel
11-22-2005, 01:53
this padding is a win/lose situation. cut open a beer koozie. the good news is that it makes great padding the bad news is that you dont have anything to keep your beer cold.
Just Jeff
11-22-2005, 07:58
Buy a $5-10 backpack from Walmart and cut off the straps. Sometimes they'll even be contoured already. Plus you get a few clips, buckles and straps to salvage from it, too.
flyfisher
11-22-2005, 11:02
You can buy a 0.5" full length pad at Wal-Mart for $7. Or a 0.25" full length pad from Target ($9?). Both items are typically found in the camping section.
The Walmart pad is what I have used most successfully. The old Target pad ends up crushed into a flake. The bubbles in Reflectivix break and it is no longer soft.
flyfisher,
It looked to me like the Target and Walmart pads were about the same material, just different thicknesses. Maybe our stores stock different stuff down here. I'm surprised that I haven't been able to just find a couple feet of black closed-cell foam, 1/4 inch thick at any of the local craft, hobby, or general stores I've visited.
Ben
Youngblood
11-24-2005, 13:01
flyfisher,
It looked to me like the Target and Walmart pads were about the same material, just different thicknesses. Maybe our stores stock different stuff down here. I'm surprised that I haven't been able to just find a couple feet of black closed-cell foam, 1/4 inch thick at any of the local craft, hobby, or general stores I've visited.
Ben
I have observed the pads that Target and WalMart sell for a few years. What I have noticed is that it can be of a totally different material from batch to batch. Most noticable is the thickness of the individual air pockets that make up the closed cell foam. The overall thickness and size remains about the same but the characteristics might be different, I suspect they purchase them using certain specifications and buy it from whoever mets those specifications and what other requirements they have. The insulating capability and durability is likely affected by size of these air pockets.
There are a couple of sources for 1/4" closed cell foam that I am aware of from my hammock camping activities, the two that come to mind are Oware and Speer Hammocks. Some sporting goods stores sell yoga mats or exercise equipment mats (to protect the floor) that might have characteristics you want also.
Nightwalker
11-25-2005, 01:55
use an old ridge rest. That's some of the best padding out there. Double thickness even.
Well, I finished the pack! I don't know why I spent so much time on this when I should have been studying for finals. I wound up making the tops of the straps from the same silnylon as the pack body, the bottoms of the straps from some cheapo nylon mesh, and the padding... well, I had an old auto winshield screen laying around, the foam kind, not the bubble kind, and it was perfect! The pack wound up costing between $4 and $5, I think. I haven't officially weighed it, but I'm guessing 7-8 oz. Not XSUL, but it's very strong. I triple-stitched (at least) every seam, and it does not pull apart at all. Many will see the close resemblance to the Gossamer Gear G6. Again, thanks to all for your input.
pics - http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/browseimages.php?do=member&imageuser=6255